Dear B3N,
I'll admit, when I first carried basically my entire life in duffle bags and suitcases through the doorway of my new bedroom for the first time, I was a little worried. I had known that Blackwell was smaller than any other dorm, but when I saw our room, the difference between our room and the rooms of the other freshmen who were not in our dorm was made even more of a reality. It didn't have a sink or carpeting and it had bunk beds. To make matters worse, my roommate's and my dorm room was the corner room, so it was even smaller than the rest. We were a little uneasy about how this experience would turn out, but it could be worse and we were thankful for a roof over our head. However, we soon learned that it was the people who made the hall and not the accommodations. If I had it any other way, I would have requested to live in Blackwell for my freshman year. Blackwell 300 North (B3N) is a family and, to them, I want to say "thank you."
Thank you for the hours of sleep that I lost because of the loud dance parties on the hall and the political and religious discussions/debates into the early hours of the morning. Thank you for the hundreds of embarrassing photos and videos that document how much fun our hall was. I will never forget the three days in a row when four different FUPO officers came to our hall from noise complaints only to see us innocently talking in a room or blasting Beyoncé. Nor will I forget the time when a puppy was hidden on our hall for a week or when our FRAD made someone purchase three fish. What other hall can say that they made multiple music videos and almost had a video go viral? We are also a team. We proved to other halls that no one can beat B3N in bubble soccer and no amount of bruises can stop us from playing.
Thank you, B3N, for your team spirit. Saturdays were spent supporting and watching our four soccer players on the soccer field. We even made posters and had our own cheers. What other hall had its own Greek letters? We did. We are Beta Theta Nu for life.
Memories like fountain hopping with our RA, surviving Blackwell Base together, and hiking Paris Mountain will always be cherished. We are even "Furman famous," having been on the Furman Snapchat multiple times. We were even Yik Yakked about being called "B3N Queens."
Thank you for a great first year and I can't wait for our "hall gatherings" for the next three years.
Love,
Emma Gibs
